This is a common theme here on the proj, get unemployed, need a roommate, get depressed, fix a cam, whatever and write a tearful post begging the community for help.

This is mine.

The climbing wall I ran in Bermuda went out of business in December, same economic situation as America but a 2 year lag time. I was fortunate to have a few dollars saved. I didn't know what I wanted to do and was always jealous of the friends I had who'd taken extended roadtrips. So off to Thailand I flew. Once back, I bought a van and set it up for a roadtrip, I wanted to climb east for two reasons, 1) I'd never been, 2) I met an incredible girl in Thailand who lives in Toronto.

I've been on the road travelling ever since. Mostly the Red and New, other smaller areas, plenty of gunking it, a trip back to Bermuda to send the FA of my life, and while at it, the girl became my girlfriend.

So the last 6 months have been amazing, in fact, they've been holyshitdidthatjusthappentome!!! amazing. The money situation isn't desperate yet. I still have the money for a damage deposit and 1 month rent, gas and food for a while, and enough not to sweat every single bean burrito. There is no more coming in though, the well is drying up. Here I am now, time to get employed, and this is where it sucks. I don't really have any job skills. I can't weld, I can't hack a computer, and I am not much of a salesman. I am a PE teacher, that's what my credentials and my degree say. It's been 4 years since I taught and I really don't know if I'd want to go back, regardless, my references are all getting stale.

I could move to Toronto but many employers don't want to go through the trouble of obtaining a work permit for me. It's too soon to move in too, so that would have me renting a place in an expensive city and trying to park my molester van on small streets. I have a dream job prospect here, but other than that, it's not ideal.

America wise, I have the total freedom to go anywhere. In my situation, I would prefer to stay within 10hrs of Toronto. That's NYC, Lexington, Fayetteville, or Indianapolis. For a good job though, I could go anywhere in the country.

I'm sort of stuck now, not knowing how exactly to make a next move. So how does one go about finding a job in a profession they haven't decided on, in an undecided city, in an unknown state, in a country with 9.2% unemployment? All I know is that I'm pretty well primed to forget about travelling for a while and work my ass off.

Half of me wants to just go back to Denver and be with my friends while I figure it out. Somehow though, I don't think that's the answer this time.

Love prevails bro. Tough it out with the girl. Don't let work define your life. If you're happy you will become confident which will help you find your place. Watching a shitload of John Cusack movies would help too i think.

If you come back to Denver you can sub teach while you figure it out. PM me if you want details on the process for DPS. I did it last year while I waited for the opportunity I wanted to come through and it worked out great for me.

There are always not well paid jobs to be had while you search for a better job. You like climbing right? Maybe you can get a job at a climbing gym in toronto? Probably doesn't pay well but at least you aren't flipping burgers? Look to rent a shared house/apt or rent a bedroom from a family.

I would look at either Burlington, VT(close to the Daks for rock and ice, Bolton Valley, Lake Willoughby and Smuggler's Notch) or Hanover, NH(close to Rumney, Cannon Mtn and the North Conway area. They are within 10hrs of Toronto and close to a lot great climbing.

Figure out what you want to be doing in 5 years and then get the education that you need to get there. It seems that your education won't open doors into what you want to do (since you don't want to teach PE), so figure out what will.

It is a terrible time to find a job, so, as many people are doing, look at it as an opportunity to go back to school. You can go to school almost anywhere, including Toronto. School will be cheaper in Canada then in the U.S. You would need to take out loans but in the long-run it may be absolutely worth it.

I'm not really sure but both are college towns so it really depends on what you are looking to do. Burlington is similar to the Boulder bubble so there is a mix of everything. I know Dartmouth College has an outing club so they may need someone to help running it.

Pretty miserable. Neither city is exactly a booming metropolis. Huge gown : town ratios, so you're competing with thousands of college students for the few jobs available (and they're largely exempt from minimum wage laws.) They do have outdoor stores like EMS, you'd be well qualified for a retail job and could probably get yourself onto a management track - turnover is usually fairly high so they are usually willing to give a new person a look, especially someone with business experience. Starting retail pay isn't great, but it sounds like you're used to that, and you would get discounts on gear. If management isn't your thing, you could work your way to qualifying as a guide. Just an idea.

I'd visit now before the students return in the fall, talk to the managers in person and see if there's anything available.

Personally I wouldn't even consider a relationship that required me to commute to Toronto from New England, but if you've been making it work for 6 months already, you should ignore that part of my advice.

Does the girl WANT you to move anywhere close to Toronto? If not, or even if she's psyched but you're getting mixed signals because you've only known her for 6 months while traveling, I'd stay in Colorado. You don't want to be stranded somewhere you don't want to be, for a woman you don't know will be your life partner. Coming from someone who's very happy they got married after the age of 40, to someone I dated for 5 years, be careful about following a woman and putting your own interests on the back burner. If the relationship is going to work, it'll work once you get back on your feet.

I followed a woman to Tucson in 1981. No job, an associate of arts degree from a community College, and I had just sold my car for scrap ($35) to help get a plane ticket down. Four years later we were married and have been so for 26 years. Climb 2 to 5 days a week, work as a contractor. Do what feels right and the rest will fall into place if you put in the effort. Good luck!

Does the girl WANT you to move anywhere close to Toronto? If not, or even if she's psyched but you're getting mixed signals because you've only known her for 6 months while traveling, I'd stay in Colorado. You don't want to be stranded somewhere you don't want to be, for a woman you don't know will be your life partner. Coming from someone who's very happy they got married after the age of 40, to someone I dated for 5 years, be careful about following a woman and putting your own interests on the back burner. If the relationship is going to work, it'll work once you get back on your feet.

haha at least you don't have an option.... I'm about to throw a 90k job out the window in Chicago and move to Colorado to go back to school for nursing so in 3 years I'll be making 2/3's of what I do now. I think it'll be worth it in the long run though and I have enough money saved up to pay for schooling and still have a decent down payment on a house when I do finally start working again. (and my wife who's a nurse can pay the majority of the bills in the mean time).

What made you turn away from nursing? They'll always be in demand and you can go anywhere with it. You'll probably start around 50-60k right out of school too. If you already have a bachelors you can probably do an accelerated program and have a BSN in two years. Most hospitals do self scheduling so it's pretty easy to get 6 or 7 days off in a row without taking any vacation time.

Meh, you're getting laid and climb 5.13, so I don't have too much sympathy for you. Hah just kidding dude, best of luck and as others have said, things will work out if you put yourself in the right mental frame and physical preparedness for it. I presently work 12 or more hour days in the middle of nowhere in Nevada.. so the $$ is pretty good and I generally like the work, but the social isolation can be a little intense.. my schedule is flexible though [just spent 6 days in SF/Donner Pass climbing] and I'm not too far from quality climbing. So, on the whole life is really good, and while I wouldn't mind being back in Boulder or getting laid, I feel blessed in the current state of things so be fairly fresh out of school with a great job [geologist at a gold mine.] To get there though, I busted ass in school, spent every summer doing an internship of some sort, and even took off a semester of school for a 6-month work/study gig in the boonies of North Idaho. So... I suppose it's all about priorities. Do you want to live a semi-homeless and poor lifestyle where you can climb hard and travel the world, or settle down and fight with the rest of the weekend warriors, then next thing you know you have 2 kids, a golden retriever, a road bike, and a 401K? Just my 2 cents. -P